The Mignon Memo

The filing period for the 2012 Texas primary election has closed. Thirty-one members of the Texas House will not return as the result of retirement or a decision to run for another office. Four members of the Texas Senate will not be returning and two members of the Texas Congressional delegation are calling it quits. Candidate lists are still being finalized due to the fact that some candidates file in their local county as opposed to their state political party.

There were a few notable last minute changes in Texas Senate races. Rep. Raul Torres (R-Corpus Christi) will run in Senate District 20 instead of running for reelection in House District 33.  He will face Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen) in the general election if successful in the Republican primary.  Rep. Rodney Anderson (R-Plano) decided not to run in Senate District 9 after all leaving Rep. Kelly Hancock (R-Ft. Worth) and Rep. Todd Smith (R-Bedford) to compete in the Republican primary.  Anderson chose not to run for re-election to his House seat since he was paired with Rep. Linda Harper Brown (R-Irving).

The United States Department of Justice refused to grant preclearance to the Texas Voter ID law passed by the Texas Legislature last session. The DOJ is concerned the law would have a retrogressive impact on Hispanic voters who do not have a state issued ID card.  Texas is the second state to have its voter ID law challenged. The Justice Department previously blocked a similar law from taking effect in South Carolina.

The Texas primary is set for May 29^th with a runoff election scheduled for July 31^st. The filing period was reopened through Friday, March 9 to allow candidates to file in the correct districts as some changed from the previous maps.

Rep. J.M. Lozano (D-Kingsville) will announce this week that he is switching his affiliation to the Republican Party.  Lozano will be the third Democrat to switch parties in recent years, following Rep. Allan Ritter (R-Nederland) and Rep. Aaron Peña (R-Edinburg) switch in late 2010.  He will face a challenge in the general election for House District 43. Former state representative Yvonne Gonzales Toureilles will run as a Democrat in that district.

Rep. Todd Smith (R-Bedford) announced that he will run for Senate District 9, currently represented by retiring Sen. Chris Harris (R-Ft. Worth).  Smith joins a crowded field that includes fellow Texas House members Rep. Rodney Anderson (R-Plano) and Rep. Kelly Hancock (R-Ft. Worth).

Rep. Ken Legler (R-Pasadena) announced that he will not seek reelection to the House District 144 seat he currently holds. Legler has served in the Texas House for two terms.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality named Zak Covar as its new executive director.  Covar, a former advisor to Governor Rick Perry, will step into his new role on May 1st, following the retirement of current executive director Mark Vickery.

The Texas Railroad Commission will also be looking for a new executive director.  John Tintera, who joined the commission in 1990 and became executive director in 2009, is retiring.

Gov. Rick Perry has named Ben Raimer of Galveston chair and appointed 13 members to the Texas Institute of Health Care Quality and Efficiency Board of Directors. The institute, created by Senate Bill 7 passed during the 82^nd Legislative Session, will improve health care quality, accountability, education and cost to the state by encouraging health care provider collaboration, effective health care delivery models and coordination of health care services.

Redistricting update: We have maps for Texas.  Yesterday afternoon, the federal court in San Antonio released interim redistricting maps for the Texas House, Texas Senate and Texas Congressional districts.  If there are no successful appeals to a
higher court, these maps will be used for this election cycle, allowing the Texas primary to take place May 29^th.  The court did not issue a specific primary date in its orders yesterday but the May date was discussed during the last court hearing. Watch for more analysis of the partisan breakdown of the maps in next week’s memo. The maps themselves can be accessed through the Texas
Legislative Council’s website http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/redist/redist.htm

Dr. James Hallmark has been named acting vice chancellor for academic affairs of the Texas A&M University System. Hallmark was recommended to the chancellor by a 10-member search committee comprised of faculty and administrators from throughout the A&M System to fill the vacant position.  Hallmark currently serves as provost/vice president for academic affairs at West Texas A&M University, a position he has held since 2008.

There are now five school finance lawsuits against the state.  Last week, Texans for Real Efficiency and Equity in Education, a group of concerned parents, challenged the state’s method of financing from the standpoint of how state funds are being spent.  It does not allege that the state needs to increase funding.  Instead it focuses on the efficiency of the spending of current funds.

The House Appropriations Committee held its first interim hearing yesterday with members receiving presentations from the Texas Comptroller’s Office, the Legislative Budget Board and the State Auditor.  Legislators were told that there will be $1.6 billion left once the current budget ends in August of 2013.  This is due to better than expected state revenues.  The Rainy Day Fund is expected to have a balance of $7.3 billion by the end of August, 2013.  The legislators were also reminded of bills that must be paid in the form of a shortfall in the Medicaid program ($3.9 billion) and shortfalls related to the foundation school program.  In  addition, the state must pay for the costs of fighting last summer’s wildfires and the increased costs of health care for prisoners.  These costs will be addressed in a supplemental appropriation bill filed during the next legislative session.

Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott announced last week that the Texas Education Agency will defer a rule that would have required new end of course student assessments (STAAR tests) to count for 15 percent of students’ final grades. For the 2011-12 school year, school districts may decide whether to count the exams toward students’ final grades.

The U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would review a lawsuit challenging The University of Texas’ consideration of race and ethnicity in admissions.  The case was filed in 2008 by two white students who were denied admission. The University of Texas won at the district court level in Austin and in the Fifth Circuit Appellate Court.

Texas Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman issued a press release stating that she believes the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association’s current structure is unsustainable due to its large market share and lack of a significant funding source.  She will bring in a consultant and name a technical advisory committee to come up with a new solution for the troubled entity.

More redistricting news hot off the  Internet.  The status conference is  ongoing in the federal court in San Antonio.  At this time, the various parties have agreed to a Texas Senate  redistricting map.  It preserves Senate  District 10, currently represented by Sen.  Wendy Davis (D-Ft. Worth) as it currently exists in the current map.  Additional population will be added to nearby Senate District 9 in order to make the numbers work.  The parties have indicated that the agreement  is on an interim basis for the 2012 election only.  This agreement still needs approval by the  court.  Negotiations continue on the  Texas House and congressional maps.  The  judges have asked the lawyers for  the political parties and the Secretary of State to pull together details regarding  filing deadlines for a May 29^th primary election.  This assumes they will reach agreement on the  other maps soon so don’t write that date on your calendar in ink just yet.

Texas Railroad Commission Chairman  Elizabeth Ames Jones resigned Monday, stating that she wanted to devote more time to her race for Senate District 25.  There had been speculation over whether she was ineligible to serve after moving her official place of residence from Austin last November to run  for the Texas Senate.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed Jones to the Railroad Commission in 2005, and she was elected to the post the following year. Jones also previously served in the Texas House.  No word on when Governor Perry will appoint  her successor.

The Texas Supreme Court has  dismissed the constitutional challenge of the franchise tax in Nestle et al  v. Combs.  The challenge was primarily based on the contention that  the tax violates the state constitutional requirement for equal and uniform taxation.   The Court dismissed the case on procedural grounds,  finding that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.

According to data released by the United States Department of Commerce, Texas  has been ranked the top exporting state in 2011 for the 10th year in a row.  Texas’ exports in 2011 totaled more than  $249.8 billion, up 20.7 percent from $206.9 billion in 2010, outperforming  overall U.S. exports, which grew by 15.8 percent in 2011. The state’s top  export recipients were Mexico, Canada, China, Brazil and the Netherlands.  Texas’ top exporting industries in 2011 were  petroleum and coal products, chemicals, computer and electronic products,  non-electrical machinery, and transportation equipment.

The change in the Big 12 conference has resulted in a scheduling dilemma  for many University of Texas and University of Oklahoma football fans.  Will they choose to attend the Red River  Rivalry game in Dallas or the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin on  Saturday, October 13, 2012?

Here is this week’s redistricting update.  We still have no official maps and the rescheduled April 3^rd primary date is looking like he impossible dream.  April 17^th has been floated as an alternate date but unless some maps are approved soon, the primary date keeps moving down the calendar page.  The state unveiled new redistricting maps on Monday, saying some of the parties in the litigation signed off on them.  Other groups cried foul and the judges in San Antonio told all sides to keep talking.

Governor Rick Perry appointed three members to the Texas Finance Commission last week.  The new members include Darby Byrd Sr. of Orange, the retired president and CEO of Orange Savings Bank; H. “Jay” Shands III of Lufkin, president and CEO of First Bank and Trust East Texas, and board chairman of First Bank of Conroe and Balcones Recycling; and Victor Leal of Amarillo, president and CEO of V. Leals’s Management and Leal’s Mexican Restaurants as well as the former mayor of the City of Muleshoe.

Jay Kimbrough, former deputy chancellor of the Texas A&M System, has been hired by the Texas Department of Public Safety for the newly created position of assistant director of DPS.  Kimbrough will oversee homeland security for the state’s law enforcement agency.

Are we any closer to knowing when Texans will head to the polls for primary elections? Not really.  Last week, the federal judges in San Antonio gave the parties until February 6^th to come up with agreed to maps.  Negotiations are ongoing but conventional wisdom says that an agreement is unlikely.  We may know more in the next few days or next week.

Republican Scott O’Grady of Collin County has suspended his campaign for the Texas Senate District 8 seat being given up by Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano).  That leaves Rep. Ken Paxton (R-McKinney) as the front runner in that race. O’Grady has been mentioned as a possible contender for Paxton’s current Texas House seat, District 70, in the Frisco-Allen-McKinney area.

According to statistics from the Texas Education Agency, there are more students in elementary school  classrooms.  The number of classrooms in Texas exceeding the state’s class size limit of 22 students has now jumped to 8,243. In all, 286 school districts have requested waivers that allow them to  put more than 22 students in elementary classes.  Larger classes have been authorized at roughly  36 percent of the elementary schools in Texas.

Liz Geise of Austin was named administrator of the Texas Governor’s Mansion.  Geise, who will be responsible for the operation, use and maintenance of the mansion and its grounds, has more than 10 years of management experience in state government.

Another twist in the state’s redistricting saga. Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the redistricting maps drawn by a panel of federal judges in San Antonio. The Supreme Court found that the San Antonio court should have created maps that looked more like the ones passed last year by the Texas Legislature. So it is back to the drawing board – literally – for the San Antonio court. That court will hold a status conference with the parties to the suit this Friday at 1:00pm. Could split primaries be in our future? More news next week.

Speaking of elections, as of today, the Texas primaries are still scheduled for April 3rd but that could change by the end of the week. Regardless of when the primary takes place, voters in the Republican primary will be asked to weigh in on a few issues important to the party leaders. The State Republican Executive Committee agreed last month to add the following proposition to Republican primary ballots: “The Texas Legislature should redraw the court-imposed lines for Congress and State legislative districts in its upcoming session in order to remedy inequities. Yes or no.” Parties often add questions to their primary ballots as a way of taking a poll of the members of their party. Republicans will also be asked about school choice, public prayer, controlling state spending and repealing federal health care reform.

This week, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed suit against the Department of Justice in an effort to speed enforcement of the state’s new voter ID law. The DOJ has been reviewing the law for the past six months under the Voting Rights Act and has twice asked state officials to supply additional information on the racial breakdown of Texas voters. Fearing further delays, Abbott asked a federal court to intervene and approve the Texas law.

Governor Rick Perry made three appointments to the Texas Medical Board this week. The new members are Carlos Gallardo of Frisco, a senior manager of recruiting at DynCorp International in Ft. Worth; William “Roy” Smythe of Belton, chairman of surgery and medical director for Scott and White Healthcare’s Office of Innovation, and a professor and chair of surgery at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine; and Paulette Southard of Alice, a retired teacher and community volunteer who has also served as secretary-treasurer of the Board.

Austin businesswoman Sheri Krause has been appointed the new chair of the Texas Historical Commission. Krause, the managing partner of JBS Holdings and former development director for The Settlement Home for Children, will replace Jon Hansen, an El Paso businessman. Kraus has been a member of the 17-member commission since 2009.

Yesterday, a panel of three federal judges in Washington D.C. began hearing testimony in a case that will determine whether the Texas Legislature violated the federal Voting Rights Act when it redrew Texas’ legislative and congressional districts last session. The testimony is expected to run through next week with final arguments scheduled for February 3rd. A separate case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court concerns the interim maps drawn by a San Antonio panel.

The most recent fundraising totals are in for the second half of 2011. Officeholders and candidates were required to report contribution and expense totals to the Texas Ethics Commission yesterday. Most reports are already available online at the Texas Ethics Commission website. Happy searching!

Don Green has been named the new chief financial officer of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS). Green will be responsible for budgeting, accounting, purchasing, and building services for TRS, which serves active and retired Texas public education and higher education employees. Green has served in state government for more than 30 years. He was most recently senior advisor to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Previously, he was director of budget and policy for the Office of the Speaker of the House, and chief financial officer of the Health and Human Services Commission.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in the Texas redistricting case. The Court must consider whether to choose between maps drawn by the Texas Legislature and the federal court in San Antonio or to allow the lower court proceedings to continue which would likely mean another delay in the Texas primary election. The Court did not issue a ruling and did not give a timeframe for issuing a ruling. The redistricting case involving preclearance on the Legislature’s plans is ongoing with the hearing in that case scheduled to begin January 17th. As the previously adopted April 3rd primary date gets closer, the odds increase for another change in the election calendar. Election officials around the state have said that they need maps and candidate lists by February 1 in order to hold the primary on April 3.

Lt. Governor David Dewhurst made several appointments in the last week. Dewhurst appointed three new members to the Sunset Advisory Commission. Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville) will serve as Vice Chair. Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) and Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) also join the Commission. Dewhurst also named four members to the Select Committee on Economic Development. During the interim, this 12 member committee will recommend an economic development policy for the state, conduct a study regarding local and state incentives, and develop criteria evaluating the effectiveness of existing state and local programs. The members appointed by Lt. Governor Dewhurst include Sen. Mike Jackson (R-LaPorte); Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano); Drayton McLane, Chairman of the McLane Group, whose interests include a number of convenience store wholesale distribution companies; and Brint Ryan, the founder and CEO of Ryan, a leading tax services firm. Governor Perry and Speaker Joe Straus will appoint the remaining members of the Select Committee on Economic Development.

WFAA-TV and The Dallas Morning News will host a live debate on March 2, 2012 featuring the Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, ESPN analyst Craig James and former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz will all participate in the Dallas debate.

The Texas law enacted last session requiring women to receive pre-abortion sonograms is constitutional and can be enforced, according to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision reversed a finding by U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks that the new law violated the First Amendment by improperly requiring doctors and patients to engage in government-mandated speech. But the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the sonogram law fell within well-established guidelines that allow states to regulate the practice of medicine in ways that do not place an undue burden on a woman’s right to an abortion. The ruling negated a temporary injunction that barred Texas from enforcing the law. The case now moves back to Sparks’ court for a hearing on the request for a permanent injunction.